By John Lyon
Arkansas News Bureau
LITTLE ROCK — Gov. Mike Beebe signed into law Tuesday a bill setting energy-efficiency goals for public buildings, one of a handful of measures to come out of this year’s legislative session that were based on recommendations by the Governor’s Commission on Global Warming.
Beebe also signed bills placing restrictions on the sale of toy guns that look like real guns and establishing disclosure requirements for companies that make loans against anticipated tax refunds.
House Bill 1663, now Act 1494 of 2009, by Rep. Kathy Webb, D-Little Rock, directs the Arkansas Energy Office to develop a plan for reducing energy use in all existing state buildings by 20 percent from 2008 levels by 2014. The plan should reduce energy use by 30 percent by 2017 under the law.
The changes would be made if a cost analysis shows they would result in savings over the life of the building.
Webb based the bill on a recommendation made last year by the Global Warming Commission, which she co-chaired. Only a few bills inspired by the commission’s recommendations won passage in the Legislature, which Beebe said was disappointing, though he said change typically comes in increments.
“It’s all a process that you work on constantly, and that’s why you have these issues constantly talked about, and people get educated,” he said.
Beebe also signed HB 2160, now Act 1495, which bans the sale of toy guns that imitate real guns unless they have orange markings on the barrel, are in colors not commonly used for real guns or are sold for use in a theatrical production, a sports event, a schools-sponsored display or a military or civil defense activity.
The law also exempts BB guns, air guns and paintball guns.
Sellers who violate the law are subject to a fine of up to $1,000 per offense.
Despite the exemption for BB guns, Rogers-based Daisy Outdoor Products opposed the measure, saying retailers could overreact and pull their products from shelves.
Beebe said Tuesday he understands manufacturers’ concerns, but those concerns were balanced against the possibility of saving children’s lives.
“Obviously the Legislature came out on the side of — and I felt that way, too, or I wouldn’t have signed it — that if you are going to balance it, you probably are going to balance it in the way of protecting people’s lives,” he said.
Beebe also signed HB 2203, now Act 1402, which requires anyone offering so-called “advances” on tax refunds to disclose to the customer any fees that apply and that the customer is receiving a short-term loan and may have to pay extra fees if the refund is late.
The law also prohibits certain practices, such as requiring a consumer to enter into a loan agreement in order to complete a tax return.
Williams, a freshman legislator, said Tuesday he was pleased to see his bill become law.
“I think this will really go a long way to protect Arkansas consumers from being defrauded,” he said.
